[Group B streptococcal panophthalmia in neonatal infection]

Hemolyzing streptococci of group B were isolated from an ulcerative keratitis in a 14-day-old girl (gestational age: 39 weeks, birth weight: 3230 g) suffering from septicemia. The differential diagnosis includes all bacteria and virus species able to penetrate the intact cornea, e.g. Pseudomonas sp., N. gonorrhoeae and Herpes simplex virus II. Perinatal infection may be via the birth canal.